Cutting apparatus for tissue-like material

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupported background material, such as cutting glands out of membranes in heads of fish. The tissue is drawn against a suction head, and a cutter sleeve surrounding the head cuts the background material around said tissue. The removed tissue is blown from the suction head.

n 8 20. M6 3F m t n e t a P S m mm b S d" mm 01S mm .1541 CUTTINGAPPARATUS FORTISSUE- 2,690,587 10 1954Truffaut..................................l7/lR LIKE MATERIAL FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS .l7/l RSweden............,......................l7/l R Anton P. M. VanSnellenberg, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 681,973 10/1952GreatBritain......................... 187,185

[75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: The Canadian Fishing Company Limited Vancouver, BritichColum Primary Exammer-Lume H. Laudenslager biz CanadaAttorney-Fetherstonhaugh & Co.

[57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft[22] Filed: Aug. 10, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 62,492

or unsupported background material, such as cutting [52] U.S. R, 83/22glands out of membranes in heads of fish, The issue is Int.Cl...............................................A22c drawn g i t a ti hd d a tt Sleeve |r 17/1, 403/53 rounding the head cuts the backgroundinaterra. around said tissue. The removed tissue is blown from thesuction head.

[58] Field of Search [56], References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,997,843 4/1935 Warrell................................

WEATENTEDFEB 6 ms 3,714,681

SHEET 10F 2 INVIN'TOI ANTON P. M. VAN SNELLENBERG ATTORNC 5 PATENTED FEB8 I973 SHEET 2 BF 2 IIIVENTOR 53 ANTON P. M. VAN SNELLENBERG AT TORNIYSCUTTING APPARATUS FOR TISSUE-LIKE MATERIAL This invention relates toapparatus for cutting soft tissue-like material from a soft orunsupported background, and particularly to apparatus for cutting glandsout of membranes in the heads of fish.

There are glands in membranes of fish heads, and in particularly salmonfish heads, which have considerable medicinal value, but it has beenextremely difficult to remove these glands from the membranes undernormal conditions. There are large quantities of fish heads available inplaces such as fish canneries, and the value of these glands have beenknown for some time, but it has not been possible to cut these glandsout in quantity in an economical manner. The difficulty is that theseglands are attached to or form part of membranes which of themselves arevery flimsy and it is difficult to cut the glands out at a reasonablerate without damaging the glands and even loosing them, since they arevery small.

Apparatus according to the present invention is capable of cutting outthese glands at a fair rate of speed and with very little difficulty.This is accomplished by drawing the gland and its background membraneagainst a suction head, and cutting the gland away from the membrane bya rotating cutter sleeve which surrounds the suction head. The gland maydrop away from the head when the suction is cut off, or it may be blownoff the suction head by air passing through the latter. A singleoperator is required, and he successively holds the fish heads againstthe suction head by hand, and the cutting operation takes placeautomatically. The operator closes a switch to cause the severed glandto be removed from the suction head, although this also can be doneautomatically.

Apparatus according to the present invention for cutting tissue-likematerial from a soft or unsupported background material, comprises asuction head to be placed against the tissue material to be removed fromthe background material, means for applying suction to said head to drawthe tissue thereagainst, a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding thesuction head and having a cutting edge positioned to engage saidbackground material when the tissue is drawn against the suction head,and means for rotating said sleeve to cut the tissue away from thebackground material. The cut away tissue can fall from the suction headwhen the suction is cut off, but it is preferable to provide means fordirecting air through this head to blow the tissue away therefrom. It isdesirable to make the cutter sleeve movable relative to the head, and toprovide means for moving the sleeve against the background material whenthe tissue is held against the suction head, and to move the sleeve inthe opposite direction after the tissue has been cut out.

An example of a preferred form of apparatus according to this inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is adiagrammatic side elevation of a fish head that has been severed fromthe remainder of the fish,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged end view of the fish head looking into the cavitytherein where the membrane containing the gland is located,

FIG. 3 is a reduced schemmatic side elevation of the cutting apparatusoperatively mounted on a stand,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the cutting apparatus by itself,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cutting apparatus,

FIG. 6 is a front elevation of this apparatus,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the suction head and the surroundingcutter sleeve,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevation of the cutting apparatus with thelower position thereof shown in section, and I FIG. 10 is a schematiccontrol system for this apparatus.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, 4 is a I head that has beensevered from a fish, such as a salmon. At the inner end of the head is acavity 5, across the inner end of which is stretched a membrane 6containing the gland 7 which has some medicinal value. It is difficultto remove the gland in an economical manner since it is attached to andsupported by the membrane only which normally offers little if anyresistance to a cutting knife, and the present cutting ap paratus isdesigned to do this job.

FIGS. 3 to 9 illustrate cutting apparatus 10 according to thisinvention. The apparatus is mounted on a stand 11. A holder 12 ismounted on the stand near the top and preferably is verticallyadjustable to suit the height ofthe operator of the apparatus. Areceiver or cup 15 is mounted on the outer end of an arm 16, theopposite of which is swingably mounted at 17 on the stand beneath holder12. Cup 15 is adapted to receive the gland after the latter has been cutaway from the membrane of the fish head. The cup is mounted on and opensinto the upper end of a tube 18 which extends downwardly to dischargeinto a receptacle 19. After the gland has been cut out of the membrane,cup 15 is moved towards apparatus 10 or the apparatus is moved towardsthe cup as desired. In this example, cup 15 is moved towards the cuttingapparatus, and a fluid-operated cylinder 20 is provided for thispurpose. The cylinder has a piston rod 21 projecting therefrom, and oneof these elements is connected to stand 11 and the other to arm 16 sothat this cylinder can be energized to swing cup 15 upwardly towardsapparatus 10 and back away therefrom to the position shown in FIG. 3.

FIGS 4 to 9 illustrate apparatus 10 in detail. A source of power isrequired in the apparatus for rotating the cutter sleeve. This may be anelectric motor or, as shown, an air motor 25 may be used for thispurpose. In this example, a standard air motor having a pistol grip 27has been used. The reason 'for this is that these motors are readilyavailable and easily adapted for this purpose. Air is supplied to motor25 through a hose 29, and any desired control for this air, not shown,may be used. A desirable control will hereinafter be explained.

Motor 25 has the usual power shaft 30. Pistol grip 26- has been used asmeans for securing motor 25 to holder 12 of stand 11. The pistol grip issecured to the holder by a suitable clamp 33, see FIG. 3.

Apparatus 10 includes a block 38 having a concave side 39 shaped to fitaround the outer surface of motor 25, this block being releasablysecured to the motor by a band 40, see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. A tube 44extends through and above and below block 38 and is fixedly securedthereto, said tube being shown extending above the block inFIGS. 4 and6, and below the block in FIG. 9. A T-fitting 46 is connected to theupper end of tube 44, and hoses 47 and 48 are connected to this fitting.Hose 47 extends from a source of suction, not shown, while hose 48extends from a source of pressure air, not shown. A suitable controlsystem is provided for these hoses and preferably includes afoot-operated control switch 49 located at the bottom of stand 1 1.

Tube 44 has a reduced threaded lower end 51, and a suction head 52 isthreaded on to said end 51. The lower part of head 52 is closed by aperforated supporting surface for end 53.

A slide 56 is mounted on tube 44 for rotation and sliding action betweenblock 38 and head 52. This slide has a threaded portion 57 projectingdownwardly therefrom, and a cutter sleeve 59 is threaded on saidportion. Cutter sleeve 59 extends downwardly around suction head 52, andhas a cutting edge 60 on its lower end. A stop 63 is connected to theupper end of slide 56, and when said stop engages block 38,.the cuttingedge of sleeve 59 is spaced a little above the level of the perforatedend 53 of suction head 52.

Slide 56 is rotated by motor 25, and this is accomplished in any desiredmanner. In this example, a gear 66 is fixedly mounted on power shaft 30of motor 25, meshes with an idler gear 67 mounted on a shaft 68projecting downwardly from block 38, which, in turn, meshes with a largegear 70 surrounding and fixedly secured to the upper end of slide 56.Motor 25 rotates slide 56 and, consequently, cutter sleeve 59 throughspeed reduction gears 66, 67 and 70.

Suitable means is provided for selectively moving slide 56 and sleeve 59up and down on shaft 44. In this example, an air cylinder 75 is mountedin and extends longitudinally of block 38, this cylinder having a piston76 slidably mounted therein. A rod 77 extends downwardly from the pistonthrough the lower end of cylinder 75 and beyond the bottom of block 38where it is connected to a connector plate 79. A spring 81 in cylinder75 biases piston 76 upwardly, and when air is directed into thiscylinder through hose 82, the piston is moved downwardly. Connectorplate 79 has bifurcated end 84 which fits into an annular groove 85formed between the upper end of slide 56 and stop 63,,see FIGS. 4, 6, 7and 9.

When air is directed into cylinder 75, connector plate 79 movesdownwardly, and this moves slide 56 and cutter sleeve 59 in the samedirection so that the cutting edge 60 of the sleeve moves below the perforated end of head 52. When the air is released from cylinder 75,spring 81 moves piston 76 upwardly, and this-moves the cutter sleeve inthe same direction. This movement is not very great, and gears 67 and 70are thick enough to permit it while remaining in mesh.

FIG. 10 diagrammatically illustrates an example of a control system forthe cutting apparatus. Suction is maintained on suction head 52 duringthe operation of the apparatus, hose 47 being connected to a suitablesource of suction, not shown. The degree of suction is sensed by asensor 90, and when the vacuum increases to a predetermined point, aswitch 91 is operated, said switch being in a pipe 92 which is connectedto a source of air under pressure, not shown. Pipe 92 is connected tothe hose 29 of motor 25 and to hose 82 of cylinder 75. Thus, when thevacuum drops in head 52 to a predetermined point, air is supplied tomotor 25 and cylinder to rotate cutter sleeve59 and to move said sleeveinto cutting position relative to the suction head.

Air control switch or valve 49 is connected by a pipe 95 to pipe 92, andby another pipe 96 to cylinder 20. Pipe 96 is also connected by'a pipe98 to suction hose 47.

The operation of cutting apparatus 10 is as follows:

The operator moves a fish head 4 to bring suction head 52 within cavity5 .thereof. This action moves gland 7 and a portion of membrane 6against the supporting surface 53 of the suction head, partially orcompletely closing the perforations in surface 53 thereof. As a resultof this, the degree of vacuum in line 47 increases until sensor causesswitch 91 to open to allow air to be directed to motor 25 and cylinder75. This causes cutter sleeve 59 to move downwardly and to rotate sothat it cuts the gland which is retained against supporting surface 53away from membrane 6. The suction maintains the gland and the membranein position to permit this cutting action to take place, and the surface53 supports the membrane during this action. Then the operator opensvalve 49 to permit air to be directed to cylinder 20 and into suctionhead 52 through line 47. This momentarily cuts off the suction, and theair blows the gland off the supporting surface of head 52 into cup 15,and through tube 18 into receptacle 19. At the same time, cylinder 20retracts piston 21 to return cup 15 to the position clear of the suctionhead, as shown in FIG. 3. As soon as the operator takes his foot offvalve 49, the suction is reapplied to head 52 so that it is ready forthe next fish head.

With this apparatus, glands can be cut from fish heads just as fast asthe latter are moved into position with their glands engaging thesupporting surface of suction head 52. The actual cutting action isalmost instantaneous, and the glands are cut cleanly away from theirrespective membranes.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupportedbackground material, comprising a suction head having a perforated endwall forming a supporting surface to be placed against the tissuematerial to be removed from the background material, means for applyingsuction to said head and through the supporting surface to draw thetissue against said surface, a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding thesuction head and having a cutting edge positioned to engage saidbackground material around the supporting surface when the tissue isdrawn against the supporting surface of the suction head, and means forrotating said sleeve to cut the tissue away from the background materialwhile said tissue is retained against the supporting surface.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cutter sleeve ismovable relative to said suction head, and including means for movingsaid sleeve into engagement with the background material when the tissueis drawn to the supporting surface of the suction head and moving thesleeve in the opposite direction after the tissue has been cut out ofsaid background material.

3. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupportedbackground material, comprising a tube, a suction head mounted on an endof the tube and having a perforated end wall forming a supportingsurface to be placed against the tissue material to be removed from thebackground material, means for applying suction to said tube and throughthe supporting surface, a cutter sleeve rotatably mounted on said tubeand surrounding the suction head, a cutting edge on said sleevepositioned to engage said background material around the supporting headwhen the tissue is drawn against said surface, and means connected to.the sleeve for rotating said sleeve around the tube to cut the tissueaway from the background material while said tissue is retained againstthe supporting surface.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 including means for cutting off saidsuction, and means connected to said tube to direct air thereinto andthrough the supporting surface when the suction is cut off to blow thecut-out tissue away from the supporting surface of the suction head.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which said sleeve is slidablymounted on the tube, and including means for moving the sleeve along thetube to shift said cutting edge against the background material when thetissue is drawn against the supporting surface and moving the sleeve inthe opposite direction after the tissue has been cut out of thebackground material.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which said moving means for thesleeve comprises a pneumatic cylinder operatively connected to saidsleeve to reciprocate the latter on said tube.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim Sin which said moving means for thesleeve comprises an air cylinder having a piston rod projectingtherefrom, coupling means for connecting said piston rod to the sleeveto cause said sleeve to slide on the rod when the piston rod is movedwithout interferring with the rotation of the sleeve.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which said means for rotating thesleeve comprises an air motor having a drive shaft, and driving meansinterconnecting said shaft and the sleeve to cause the latter to rotateon operation of the air motor. I

9. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like materialfrom a soft or unsupportedbackground material, comprising a suction head having a perforated endwall forming a supporting surface to be placed against the tissuematerial to be removed from the background material, means for applyingsuction to said head and through said supporting surface to draw thetissue thereagainst, and cutting means adjacent the head positioned toen gage said background material around the head when the tissue isdrawn against the supporting surface of the suction head to cut thetissue away from the background material.

10. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft orunsupported background material, comprising a suction head havingasuction surface through which air is drawn into the head and to beplaced against the tissue material to be removed from the backgroundmaterial, means for continuously applying a predetermined degree ofvacuum to said head so as to draw the tissue against the suction surfacethereof, said tissue against the head reducing the amount of airtravelling through said suction surface and thereby causing the vacuumin the head to increase a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding thesuction head and having a cutting edge positioned to engage saidbackground material when the tissue is drawn against the suction head,an air motor operatively connected to the cutter sleeve to rotate thelatter, and means responsive to said vacuum increase to direct air tothe motor to rotate the sleeve to cut the tissue away from thebackground material.

responsive means whereby said vacuum increase causes air to be directedto the air-operated means to cause the cutter sleeve to move intocutting position when said sleeve is rotated.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 including means for directing airthrough the suction head to blow the gland off the suction surfacethereof.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 including a cup positioned toreceive the gland blown off the head suction surface.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which said cup is normallyspaced away from the suction head, and including air-controlled meansfor moving the cup into position to receive the gland blown from thesuction head.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14 including means connecting saidair-controlled means to said air directing means to cause the cup tomove into glandreceiving position when the air blows the gland off thesuction head surface.

16. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft orunsupported background material,'comprising a I suction head having asupporting surface to be placed against the tissue material to beremoved from the background material, means for applying suction to saidhead and through the supporting surface to draw the tissue against saidsurface, a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding the suction head andhaving a cutting edge positionedto engage said background materialaround the supporting surface when the tissue is drawn against thesupporting surface of the suction head, and means for rotating saidsleeve to cut the tissue away from the background material while saidtissue is retained.

against the supporting surface, said apparatus further including meansfor cutting off said suction, and means for directing air through saidsupporting surface of the head to blow the cut-out tissue awaytherefrom.

1. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupportedbackground material, comprising a suction head having a perforated endwall forming a supporting surface to be placed against the tissuematerial to be removed from the background material, means for applyingsuction to said head and through the supporting surface to draw thetissue against said surface, a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding thesuction head and having a cutting edge positioned to engage saidbackground material around the supporting surface when the tissue isdrawn against the supporting surface of the suction head, and means forrotating said sleeve to cut the tissue away from the background materialwhile said tissue is retained against the supporting surface. 1.Apparatus for cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupportedbackground material, comprising a suction head having a perforated endwall forming a supporting surface to be placed against the tissuematerial to be removed from the background material, means for applyingsuction to said head and through the supporting surface to draw thetissue against said surface, a rotatable cutter sleeve surrounding thesuction head and having a cutting edge positioned to engage saidbackground material around the supporting surface when the tissue isdrawn against the supporting surface of the suction head, and means forrotating said sleeve to cut the tissue away from the background materialwhile said tissue is retained against the supporting surface. 2.Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said cutter sleeve is movablerelative to said suction head, and including means for moving saidsleeve into engagement with the background material when the tissue isdrawn to the supporting surface of the suction head and moving thesleeve in the opposite direction after the tissue has been cut out ofsaid background material.
 3. Apparatus for cutting tissue-like materialfrom a soft or unsupported background material, comprising a tube, asuction head mounted on an end of the tube and having a perforated endwall forming a supporting surface to be placed against the tissuematerial to be removed from the background material, means for applyingsuction to said tube and through the supporting surface, a cutter sleeverotatably mounted on said tube and surrounding the suction head, acutting edge on said sleeve positioned to engage said backgroundmaterial around the supporting head when the tissue is drawn againstsaid surface, and means connected to the sleeve for rotating said sleevearound the tube to cut the tissue away from the background materialwhile said tissue is retained against the supporting surface. 4.Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 including means for cutting off saidsuction, and means connected to said tube to direct air thereinto andthrough the supporting surface when the suction is cut off to blow thecut-out tissue away from the supporting surface of the suction head. 5.Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which said sleeve is slidably mountedon the tube, and including means for moving the sleeve along the tube toshift said cutting edge against the background material when the tissueis drawn against the supporting surface and moving the sleeve in theopposite direction after the tissue has been cut out of the backgroundmaterial.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 in which said moving meansfor the sleeve comprises a pneumatic cylinder operatively connected tosaid sleeve to reciprocate the latter on said tube.
 7. Apparatus asclaimed in claim 5 in which said moving means for the sleeve comprisesan air cylinder having a piston rod projecting therefrom, coupling meansfor connecting said piston rod to the sleeve to cause Said sleeve toslide on the rod when the piston rod is moved without interferring withthe rotation of the sleeve.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in whichsaid means for rotating the sleeve comprises an air motor having a driveshaft, and driving means interconnecting said shaft and the sleeve tocause the latter to rotate on operation of the air motor.
 9. Apparatusfor cutting tissue-like material from a soft or unsupported backgroundmaterial, comprising a suction head having a perforated end wall forminga supporting surface to be placed against the tissue material to beremoved from the background material, means for applying suction to saidhead and through said supporting surface to draw the tissuethereagainst, and cutting means adjacent the head positioned to engagesaid background material around the head when the tissue is drawnagainst the supporting surface of the suction head to cut the tissueaway from the background material.
 10. Apparatus for cutting tissue-likematerial from a soft or unsupported background material, comprising asuction head having a suction surface through which air is drawn intothe head and to be placed against the tissue material to be removed fromthe background material, means for continuously applying a predetermineddegree of vacuum to said head so as to draw the tissue against thesuction surface thereof, said tissue against the head reducing theamount of air travelling through said suction surface and therebycausing the vacuum in the head to increase, a rotatable cutter sleevesurrounding the suction head and having a cutting edge positioned toengage said background material when the tissue is drawn against thesuction head, an air motor operatively connected to the cutter sleeve torotate the latter, and means responsive to said vacuum increase todirect air to the motor to rotate the sleeve to cut the tissue away fromthe background material.
 11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in whichsaid cutter sleeve is movable into cutting position relative to saidsuction head and is normally retracted relative thereto, and includingair-operated means for moving said sleeve into engagement with thebackground material when the tissue is drawn to the suction head, andmeans connecting said air-operated means to said responsive meanswhereby said vacuum increase causes air to be directed to theair-operated means to cause the cutter sleeve to move into cuttingposition when said sleeve is rotated.
 12. Apparatus as claimed in claim10 including means for directing air through the suction head to blowthe gland off the suction surface thereof.
 13. Apparatus as claimed inclaim 12 including a cup positioned to receive the gland blown off thehead suction surface.
 14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which saidcup is normally spaced away from the suction head, and includingair-controlled means for moving the cup into position to receive thegland blown from the suction head.
 15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 14including means connecting said air-controlled means to said airdirecting means to cause the cup to move into gland-receiving positionwhen the air blows the gland off the suction head surface.